list building

This is the second of two entries on "Master Resale Rights". The first arcticle was about buying master resale rights. This article will focus on the perspective of the seller. If you have created an information product, what are the pros and cons of selling master resale rights to it? Is it a good idea?

So you have created your own information product (ebook, report, software, video, etc.). You are ready to sell the product to the masses. You have probably noticed that some information sellers also offer master resale rights (MRR) as an additional "one time offer". It seems like an opportunity to make even more money, doesn't it? Well, sometimes, but no always.

If you are considering selling master resale rights to your product, the first thing you should consider is your main goal with the product. Often times, maximizing earnings will be the goal. Sometimes, however, building an email list, or building a reputation for yourself, may be a strong secondary goal, or even the primary goal. Selling master resale rights can affect both types of goals in different ways.

Offering master resale rights gives you a quick and easy opportunity to boost your earnings. The product is complete, and it doesn't take much additional effort to sell the master resale rights. Plus you can often sell the MRR for several times more than the cost of the product. This can add up to some healthly "back-end" profits. I read recently from an experienced Internet marketer that he was earning twice as much on the back-end offer compared to the original offer. Seems like a no-brainer, doesn't it? Well, it's not. If you think deeper about it, its actually more complicated than that.

When you sell master resale rights, you are usually giving people 2 options: 1) promote your product via your affiliate program (no cost to them) or 2) buy the master resale rights and resell the product directly, cutting you out of the picture all together. Under the first scenario, you don;t earn anything for the MRR, but you may still make money if the person promotes your product via the affiliate program. If they buy the MRR, you make some money selling the rights, but you get zero for every item they resell -- in other words if they turn around and resell 1,000 copies of your product, you don't get any of that money -- plus you don't get any new subscribers to your email list either.

Which brings us back to your goal. If you have a strong goal to build your email list, selling master resale rights may not be 100% in line with that goal, for the reasons described above. However, if your goal is to build a reputation for yourself, selling MRR may be a very good idea. When you sell master resale rights, it makes it more attractive for successful Internet Marketers (the ones with really big email lists!) to promote your product. Why? For the same reason described in the previously paragraph. They have big mailing lists and they know they can sell a lot of your product. They also know that if they buy the master resale rights, they can also make more money by reselling the MRR themselves on the back-end. Bottom line: since they know they can make more money reselling your product (via MRR) than via your affiliate program, it becomes more attractive to promote your product. And don't underestimate the value of building your reputation (even if you earn $0 and get zero emails). In Internet Marketing, reputation and trust are very important, especially when you are just starting out.

In summary, selling master resale rights to your products can earn you more, or less, money. And it may result is less opt-ins to your email list, but at the same time it will make your product more attractive for others to promote. For the reasons discussed above, I think it is a good idea to think long and hard about your goals before deciding whether or not to sell master resale rights.

This is the first of two entries on "Master Resale Rights". This article will focus on the perspective of the buyer. What should be considered when contemplating buying master resale rights? Is it a good idea?

You may have seen information products (eBooks, reports, videos, etc.) that off an option to buy master resale rights (MRR) for the product. The general defintiion of master resale rights is that they enable you to resell the product and resell the master resale rights to others. In practice, however, "master resale rights" can mean different things, so it makes good sense to delve into the details, if provided. Some "rights" questions to consider:

Can you resell the product directly?

Can you re-brand the product?

Can you modify the contents of the product?

Do the MRR include the salesletter, images, and other marketing materials?

Can you give away the product for free?

Can you resell the MRR as well as the product itself?

In most cases, master resale rights include the sales materials, and enable you to resell or giveaway the product, and resell the MRR -- but do not allow re-branding or modifying the product itself.

Is it a good idea to buy Master Resale Rights?

The answer to this question is: maybe. It depends on a number of factors. You first need to decide what your goal will be in promoting the product. In most cases, you will have the option to promote the product via an affiliate program, by sending people to the vendor's web site. So one consideration, or goal, may be to earn the most money. Another common goal is to use the MRR to help build your own mailing list (either by selling it or giving it away).

If your goal is to maximize your earnings, you need weigh the expected sales revenue against the cost of the master resale rights. For example, suppose the MRR will cost you $47 and you will earn $7 on each sale of the product. That means you would need to sell at least 7 copies of the product in order to recoup your cost. If you don't think you can sell that many, then you are probably better promoting the product via the affiliate program (which you can usually join for no cost). Another consideration, is the potential for "one-time-offer" or back-end sales. In many cases, you would offer each buyer an offer in which they can buy the MRR themselves. Not everyone will take this offer, but some will. This can dramatically increase your earns potential. For example if 7 people buy product for $7, and two of them buy the MRR as well for $47, you have now earned $143, which is three times as much as you would have earned using the affiliate program (assuming it pays 100% commissions of $7 each). So you need to think about how many people you think will take the offer and buy the master resale rights from you. It depends on the product and prices involved, but if you think you can sell a substantial number, doing so via the MRR might earn you a lot more money. And you can build your own email list in the process, and you can earn future sales and commissions from mailing to your list.

Another thing to consider is your time and effort. If the buy the master resale rights, you have to do some work to setup a site to sell the product and MRR. Even if you can use the vendor's salesletter, you still need to integrate into your own payment methods, insert your mailing list subscription form, etc. This takes time and effort. Make sure that you can make enough sales to make the effort worth your while.

If your primary goal is list building, then buying the master resale rights is the way to go. There are two options here. You can sell the product and have buyers opt-in to your mailing list in the process, OR, you can give the product away for free if they subscribe to your list. The latter will have a higher conversion rate, as more people will go for a free offer. As such, you will build your list faster, but you won't earn any money from direct sales of the product. I chose this last option a few days ago. I bought the Master Resale Rights for List Blueprint, an eBook about list building, and I give it away for free to people who confirm their subscription to my new mailing list. Get your free copy of List Blueprint here.

In summary, buying Master Resale Rights (MRR) can be a good idea if you think you can sell a significant number of products and if you have the time and knowledge to setup a site and integrate payment methods to do so. On the other hand, if you think you can only sell a few items, then sign up for the affiliate program, it is fast an easy to get started, and usually free.

I have been doing Internet Marketing full-time for several years. Starting with SEO consulting and building from there, I now provide Internet Marketing consulting services and my own web site generate 10,000,000 page view per month.

While I have a lot of experience with SEO, PPC, conversion optimization, blogging, and more -- I have never put the effort into creating and building an email subscription list. Until now. I recently bought an eBook on the subject of email listing building and I was very impressed with the techniques revealed in the book. I am on a mission to start implementing those techniques in order to start building my own list. The mailing list is called "Internet Money", and it will cover a broad range of topics that can help you make money on the Internet. I have learned a lot in recent years, and now it is time for me to share some of that knowledge with you.

The eBook is called List Blueprint, and I was so impressed by it that I bought the rights so I can give away a copy of it to those who subscribe to Internet Money. All you have to do is subscribe and confirm your email address, and as my gift to you, you will be able to download List Blueprint absolutely free.